What could the Steelers get in a trade for Le’Veon Bell?
One of the ideas floating around the interwebs following the Steelers inability to strike a long-term deal with Le’Veon Bell is trading their Pro Bowl running back.
I believe the idea is ridiculous, but I’m willing to entertain the thought for the sake of discussion. What would the Steelers be able to get in a trade for Le’Veon Bell?
Well, for starters, if Bell were a franchise tagged player of the “non-exclusive” variety, the Steelers would be compensated with two first-round drafts picks by Le’Veon’s new team. That’s a steep price to pay for any player and doesn’t account for the equally large price tag Bell will command in contract negotiations.
Call me a cynic, but Pittsburgh won’t be getting that much. A team would have to have a lot of space under their salary cap and would be mortgaging their own future by shipping away two first round draft picks. A less costly option could be trading a first round pick, and perhaps swapping a later round draft pick with the Steelers for the rights to Le’Veon’s services.
But would a team be willing to do that?
The counter argument to signing Bell to a long-term deal has been his availability: while a game changer on the field, Le’Veon has to actually be on the field to make a difference for the Steelers or anyone else. The train of thought is to wait out this one-year franchise tag and see if Bell can remain healthy and out of trouble off of the field. The risks of signing Bell to a multi-year deal comes with the same risks for the franchise who might trade for him. If he slips up again, his suspension is only four games; but it’s still four games where your expensive toy stays in the garage.
Most teams, including the Steelers, would be leery of paying a high salary associated with that risk: now imagine bargaining a top draft pick or several draft picks in addition to that price tag.
It’s not a likely scenario. Nor will it be next season.
There is a chance that the Bell plays every game, healthy and problem-free. That could help his stock increase, but it doesn’t mean any of the league’s 31 teams will be jumping to trade the Steelers in 2018. Assuming Bell is franchise tagged by Pittsburgh and then put up for trade feelers, I can’t imagine a scenario where another team feels compelled to pay a $14 million dollar franchise tag salary in addition to giving up some draft picks for only a single year of guaranteed service from Bell. Le’Veon’s new team would have to strike a long-term agreement for the move to make sense, or else it will be a giant loss at the expense of someone else.
What’s more probable, in the event Bell is tagged again and subsequently not signed beyond 2018 by the Steelers, is that a potential suitor will just wait out an additional season so they can throw their hat into the bidding war which will ensue if and when Bell hits free agency. They’d still spend a pretty penny on a premium player while being able to retain their own draft picks to surround said athlete with other weapons.
Therefore, the very idea of the Steelers trading Le’Veon Bell doesn’t appear to carry a lot of weight, at least in the interim. The asking price in both salary and draft picks might be too much for another team to swallow. Also, I highly doubt that the Steelers would ship Bell off for a fifth-round pick, as they did with Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes back in 2010. Holmes was sent to the New York Jets after the team discovered he would be suspended for the first four games of the season. The suspension lowered his trade value and would do the same to Bell if he were to be suspended again.
Another suspension would also mean Bell’s next slip up would slap him with a longer punishment, which could see him miss an entire season. It’s a lot of “if this, then that” speculation being discussed here, but don’t be fooled into thinking that every front office in the league doesn’t have a spiderweb of “what if” scenarios laid out on a wall like a crime scene investigation.
One of those comparisons would be the Darrelle Revis trade between the Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2013. It’s the most recent memory of the best player at their position being exchanged via a trade. Revis became the highest paid defensive back in NFL history by Tampa Bay, while the Jets received a first round pick and another fourth round conditional pick in the deal. The Revis experiment failed to work out for the Bucs, and with no guaranteed money on the books, they cut ties with the cornerback following one season with the team.
Therefore, teams will make sure every stone is overturned to justify if Bell would be worth trading for. I won’t say it can’t happen, but for everyone playing general manager as if they’re playing a video game, the result more than likely won’t be the fantasy scenarios all playing out in our heads.
